what role do people like paul ryan, very influential, play in the resolution of the debates? >> absolutely. now the politics begins. we're going to see the distinction perhaps between leadership and the gaining out of political implications. i would think that even now in the next several months paul ryan and others are better served in putting the nation first and that would drive them for political -- >> he did vote for the fiscal cliff deal. he seems to have been a force forex tending debt ceiling in order to gain some time to negotiate. i think all of that argues in favor of some time to get the right things done. >> chuck gabriel, how did you read or hear the president's passage where he talked about medicare and social security and he said the commitments we make to each other through medicare, medicaid, social security, these things do not zap our initiative, they strengthen it. they do not make us a nation of takers, they free us and make this country great. that felt to me like a bit of a stake in the ground by the president. >> yeah. you know, the president last wee